Empirical Research

Introduction to the Literature Review – Empirical Research

Topic PICOT Question: PICOT Question: For postpartum mothers 18 years and older in the Birthing Center for Women and Child Health, will the implementation of Mobile Phone Support (MPS) increase exclusive breastfeeding compared to the current practice over a four week period?

The purpose of this assignment is to conduct empirical research relevant to the DPI Project.

Empirical research is the foundation of scholarly research and scholarly writing. An empirical article is one that reports the actual results of a research study, and it should include a description of the study, an introduction, a research question, an explanation of the study’s methodology, a presentation of the results of the study, and a conclusion that discusses the results and suggests topics for further study.

When conducting research and seeking out scholarly resources, limit your search to empirical articles. Upon finding a relevant empirical study, assess the validity of the conclusion by determining if it answers the proposed research question and if the methodology is appropriate. As you move forward in your doctoral journey, you will read research papers that will require you to assess the validity of the studies in question. To accomplish this, qualitative assessments about the research must be made by comparing, contrasting, and synthesizing what the research says.

In this assignment, you will review 30 research articles associated with your approved topic and summarize the purpose, methods, and results of each study, identify three to five major themes and three to five subthemes.

General Requirements:

Use the following information to ensure successful completion of this assignment:

• Refer to the “Empirical Research Checklist” to assist in determining which articles are empirical.
• Use the “Research Article Chart” spreadsheet to provide a summary review of each component of your assignment.
• Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments.
• This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

Directions:

Select 30 empirical articles published within the last 4 years that relate to your approved PICOT question. Use the “Empirical Research Checklist” resource to ensure that each article meets all of the established criteria. The majority of the chosen articles must demonstrate a quantitative methodology, though you may include one meta-analysis article and one systematic review. These articles will be used to write your 20-25 page Literature Review in Topic 6. Read the assignment instructions now to begin familiarizing yourself with the expectations for that assignment.

Provide a summary review of each component using the “Research Article Chart” workbook. You will have one entry for each of your 30 selected articles.

The workbook is designed so that the content expected in each row appears when the cursor hovers over the individual Criteria and Defining Characteristics cells. Use the guidelines for each criteria as an outline of what material should be included for every research article documented in the chart.